Chapter 31: We're Expecting Our First Child

Thank god, Nico had given Max and I mint tic tacs after our throw up accident.

Otherwise, I don't think I'd have experienced a lengthy kissing session with Nolan.

His hands cupped the sides of my face and forcefully tilted my chin up to kiss him . . . comfortably.

Truth be told, the last thing I expected from the idiot on this trip was a desperate and passionate kiss. His cool lips claimed mine as their own. I shut my eyes and grasped his collar tightly, pulling him as close to me as possible. Our bodies pressed against each other's and all I wanted was to stay in this position forever. A fluttery feeling entered my stomach. Maybe my rapidly beating heart finally dropped out of its location.

I raised myself on my tippy toes and moved my arms around his neck, returning the kiss with as much anger as I could. This was our second legitimate kiss and I wanted it.

No matter how much he wanted to distance himself . . . I won't let him.

Maybe I was running too ahead in my thoughts because Nolan pulled away, all of a sudden, and stood breathlessly. It was as if he wanted to break free of something that he started! I couldn't comprehend the meaning behind his actions. I didn't even want the kiss to end, which terrified me more than assure me.

"Let's see how well this serves your future relationship," Nolan said venomously.

To our right, I saw Nico watching us at a distance with his expression blank. Nolan couldn't be serious?

Catching my breath, I whispered, "You kissed me to ruin my 'future relationship' with Nico?"

Yup, he's an idiot.

"You ruined my life. Don't expect me to let you off the hook so easily," he demanded in a barely audible voice.

"You--"

"I won't let you crush him either with your fake feelings. Hel-en, you're faker than a plastic Barbie."

Is that an insult?

No idea.

"Go to hell, Nolan!" I said sharply. His eyes narrowed. "I don't know what makes you think you have the right to mess with people's lives, but it clearly needs to stop. Whatever I have with Nico is none of your damn concern! Remember, I'm your eighth breakup!"

I intentionally brought that up.

Unfortunately, I didn't expect rage to hit his eyes or for him to step forward and slam his hand flat against the brick wall next to my head. I almost jumped in surprise.

"The eighth breakup is something far more important than you can understand," he enunciated each word, his tone laced with bitterness. Something inside me felt a blow. He didn't consider me important at all! After all the troubles I suffered through because of him, he indirectly called me an unimportant--actually, he seemed to consider me just another breakup! "You'll never understand."

He stormed off in a spontaneous direction.

Running a hand over my face, I clenched my hands into fists and leaned against the wall.

The only reason why he kissed me was because he wanted to show Nico. He didn't even considered me important after all the things he put me through or all the things I did for him! Sometimes, I wished Nolan would see and understand the world beyond broken hearts and revenge schemes. Truth be told, from his perspective, it was if he wasn't happy, then none of his girlfriends had the right to be happy either.

A psychologist or a therapist.

Exactly what he needed.

It wasn't often, but today, for no reason, the anger, pain, and confusion brought small tears in my eyes which I quickly wiped them away. Someone tapped my shoulder and I shrugged him away.

Did Nolan come back?

When I saw the figure with the eyebrow piercing emerge from behind me to in front of me, I closed my eyes.

"I think that make out session exhausted your eyes," he pointed out. With a narrowed look, I was about to tell him to piss off when he added, "I can see traces of sweat."

"I'm not in the mood, Nico," I said flatly. At least, the tears (or rather the sweat) were gone.

"When are you ever?" he stated. I crossed my arms. "Oh wait, you just were . . . until your ex said something hurtful and left you crying over God knows what."

"Great observation. Want a prize for that?" I replied dryly.

"Don't be an idiot, Helen. We both came here to discover something significant about Nolan's past, according to you." I was shocked at how solemnly he said those words. "If you'd quit moping around, maybe we can achieve something? The guys want to leave within the next hour."

"Let's find Ruth and Paris, then," I said.

Nico wasn't exactly wrong about me wasting time on useless matters. Knowing what happened this past year was the only way to understand Nolan.

Why couldn't I like someone sane?

Nonetheless, Nico and I planned a disguise for me--sunglasses, and a feather scarf--to avoid conflicts with anyone recognizing me inside the legitimate village. We separated from the group a while ago and hopped on a buggy ride.

I smacked Nico with the feather scarf we bought from one of the shops outside the village.

Nico spat out the feathers that hit him in the mouth.

"Stop it," he muttered, however I kept on hitting him. It was all his fault for buying such an ugly scarf.

"Could you please calm down?" Our buggy driver asked and glanced over his shoulder at us. My eyes immediately widened seeing his face. Thankfully, he failed to recognize me and resumed his harangue about the area. "And that Church over there is two hundred years old." I internally cringed at the sight of the Church where Paris, himself, got married to Julie.

"I heard there was some crisis a few weeks back at the Church and someone got kidnapped and someone died," an elderly woman stated.

I coughed.

The only thing that died that day was my relationship with Nolan.

Nico wiggled his eyebrows at me, questioningly. Alright, I hadn't given him every single detail about what happened in my life within the past two and a half months.

"No kidnapping--just a minor prank. No one died either--just a minor fainting incident," Paris said jokingly. He was trying hard to play it off as if nothing had happened.

All hell broke loose that day.

The buggy drew inside the village before making a u-turn.

Somehow, Nico and I had to get off with a plausible excuse. He whispered something about him breaking down, but then that would consequence in the opposite of getting off. I was about to suggest something when the same elderly woman who asked Paris the question turned to us.

"How old?" she asked.

"Eighteen," Nico and I said simultaneously.

"No, I meant your baby," she laughed. The other five people gave us judgmental stares and I didn't understand what the fudge was happening. "I heard him," she gestured towards Nico, "mention something about not picking up your first child earlier. I assumed you're expecting a child. Maybe I misheard or misinterpreted. My hearing's getting worse." She sighed.

Stupid Nico and his ridiculous flirting. This lady probably heard us when we were playing with the baby chicks.

"Yeah, we're--" too young to have kids!

Too bad Nico didn't allow me to finish! "Yeah, we're expecting our first child," he nodded, gripping my hand tightly. My eyes widened behind my sunglasses and I squeezed the blood out of his hand until he let go.

What in the world was he saying?!

I, Helen Postulet, pregnant at eighteen? No Princeton?! No mansion? No secret lairs? Instead stuck raising a tiny useless creature that's going to eat, throw up, or poop out all my money?

Ew no.

"Nic--" I opened my mouth to stop him.

"Ssh, love. I know we're young, but what's done is done," he interjected sympathetically. Pathetic little excuse of a human! He was telling it was okay we had imaginery and unprotected sex? "Just stay relaxed, for now. We never know how or when the hormones might act up and you might pass out." What was with the extra stressing? The only thing my hormones might react to was against what he was implying.

"These kids ruined their future," someone whispered, but I heard that mother.

Mine would slap me if she heard I was pregnant.

"This is our only way to get out. C'mon, pretend to faint or something." Nico leaned so close to my ear that I squirmed from his breath tickling my ear. Someone cooed and called us adorable.

If they only knew what he said.

Now I fell on the same track as Nico and glanced out of the window. As soon as we neared Paris's house, I started to fan myself and coughing. The heat was such a killer in March in the eastern coast of the USA.

Not at all.

In fact, the weather was chilly.

But pregnant woman's body worked differently right?

"Are you alright?" Nico asked. Everyone was watching me concerned. I tore away the sunglasses and started breathing hard. Right now, it didn't matter whether or not Paris realized I sat in his buggy. Trembling my hands forcefully, I dropped my head against his shoulder and started wheezing.

Man, I was a pro at my public embarrassment tantrums.

"Give her some water!" I heard the old woman yell.

It was sweet of her to sprinkle water on my face to awaken me, even though I was completely conscious.

"Helen! Helen, wake up!" Nico patted my cheek and I inconspicuously pinched his side. "Ah-ow," he uttered, clutching his side. He needn't stop the moving vehicle soon. "Hey, can you make a stop?"

"Helen's such a beautiful name," someone remarked.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Nico agreed, next to me. For the first time, I heard no snide comment regarding me and my name. Nothing about a selfish woman who ran away with her lover. That's nice.

My thoughts didn't linger any longer on Nico rather on the abrupt halt of the buggy.

"Helen?" This time I heard Paris say it out loud. Before I knew it, different voices began yelling at him to get help nearby. "Fine!" People cared so much for a pregnant woman. Someone lifted me out of the carriage-type vehicle. I peeped open an eye and found Nico's face above mine.

"You're so heavy," he acknowledged.

No one asked him to carry me.

Not having the time to take offense, I said nothing and shut my eye. If anyone saw me awake, I'd be dead meat.

A sound of a door creaking open told me we were heading inside someone's house. Paris established the tourists staying put in their spot while I was to be taken to a "special area." Nico sauntered around for a bit before setting me down on a hard sofa. The scarf was brought away from my face.

I tried to sneak a glance at my surroundings when I saw Paris and Nico both watching me.

"Quit the charade, Helen," Paris said sharply. "You're so lucky my parents aren't home." Relieved at those heavenly words, I sat up with my eyes wide open. We were in a plain room with one bed and a few paintings on the wall. "What exactly are you doing here?" Paris stood with his arms crossed and mouth pressed into a thin line.

"I need to talk to Ruth. Five minutes is all I ask. I promise."

His nose flared. "RUTH!" Paris screamed aggravated. Even Nico seemed shocked for a moment. Paris's sister came in running and stopped short in the doorway when she saw me.

"Helen?"

I waved a hi. Bafflement remained on her small face. "Ruth, I just want to know if you have any information or ideas about the girl Nolan dated after you," I said. "Anything."

Ruth blinked back and forth between Paris and I.

"Just tell her if you know anything," Paris sighed, exasperatedly.

For a moment, Ruth made weird faces while thoughtfully staring at the wall. We waited for her. "I'm not sure," she shrugged. "I don't know her name, but I believe the girl was his school principal's daughter."

"Who? Janine?" Now, it was my turn to be shocked. "But she's one of the seven." Ruth shrugged again and kept insisting it was Janine. I replayed all events in my mind. The first time we came to this Amish village was before Janine and Kayden breakup, but our seventh breakup was also in the Amish village. Did we return with a broken relationship from this village? We stayed at Paris's house that one time and left the break up, right?

"Wait a minute," I said, putting pieces together, "Since Nolan heard about Ruth's parents getting her married, he said we'll skip over the breakup and come back to it at the end. He then resumed on to Janine before Paris called us here to break up Ruth's marriage. So that means--"

"Ruth wasn't the seventh breakup," Nico finished. "Janine was."

I slapped my forehead at the mistake.

"Basically, you came back to the village you're banned from for no reason," Paris stated the obvious.

I should've been going to Janine to find information! What a mislead! No, what a mistake. To make matters worse, I had no one to blame except myself.

"You guys better leave before--" Ruth started.

"Ruth, Paris!" someone called.

"Our parents come home," Ruth finished with a gulp. From her and Paris's expressions, Nico and I figured the woman who had just called their names was probably their mother.

Can life get any worse?

"Come, look, we found this Nolan guy trespassing our village!"

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A/N

The end bit of the chapter was so fun to write. So, Helen and Nolan screwed up coming to this village. They did skip over the sixth breakup (Ruth) if anyone remembered.

What do you think will happen to Helen and Nolan?
Stupid Nolan got caught.

Helen's pregnant??? Nah.

Pretty please vote, comment, and share <3